Select Committees: Regulation

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Leader of the House if she will bring forward proposals to establish a select committee to  (a) monitor the work of and  (b) hold to account public regulators; and if she will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: Scrutiny of the work of public regulators is the responsibility of the relevant departmental select committees. It would be difficult in practice to carry out effective scrutiny of public regulators which was separate from the wider scrutiny functions of the departmental committees.
	This aspect of their work has recently been strengthened by the establishment of pre-appointment hearings, as proposed in the 'Governance of Britain' Green Paper (Cm7342) and agreed to by the Liaison Committee in May.
	A full list of the regulators who will be subject to pre-appointment hearings is set out in the First Special Report of the Liaison Committee, Session 2007-08, HC 594, pages 5 to 8.

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department and its agencies have spent on  (a) flat screen televisions,  (b) DVD players and  (c) stereo equipment in each of the last three years.

Shaun Woodward: The following table shows expenditure by the Northern Ireland Office, including its Agencies but excluding Executive NDPBs, on  (a) flat screen televisions,  (b) DVD players and  (c) stereo equipment in the last three years.
	
		
			  £ 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Flat Screen Televisions (1)11,531 15,452 2,415 
			 DVD Players Nil 959 487 
			 Stereo Equipment 82 273 Nil 
		
	
	 Northern Ireland Prison Service
	Details requested could be provided only by this agency at disproportionate cost.
	 Youth Justice Agency
	(1)The figure of £11,531 in 2005-06 includes £8,308 which relates to the purchase of electrical equipment by the Youth Justice Agency. A breakdown of this figure - which may include expenditure in the above three categories—could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	All expenditure has to be incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Redundancy

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  how many staff in his Department left under  (a) involuntary and  (b) voluntary staff exit schemes in each year since 2005-06; how many of them in each case were paid (i) up to £25,000, (ii) £25,001 to £50,000, (iii) £50,001 to £75,000, (iv) £75,001 to £100,000 and (v) over £100,000 in the year before they left; and how much (A) was spent in each of those years and (B) is planned to be spent on such schemes in (1) 2008-09 and (2) 2009-10 by (Y) his Department and its predecessor (Z) each of his Department's agencies;
	(2)  how many of his Department's staff who left under  (a) an involuntary and  (b) a voluntary exit scheme in each year since 2005-06 received a severance package of (i) up to £25,000, (ii) £25,001 to £50,000, (iii) £50,001 to £75,000, (iv) £75,001 to £100,000 and (v) over £100,000; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: No staff have left the Department on an involuntary basis in the last three years. Currently there are no plans for involuntary exit schemes in the next two years.
	The following table shows the number of staff who voluntarily left the Northern Ireland Office under early retirement or early severance schemes in each year.
	
		
			   Up to £25,000  £25,001 to £50,000  £50,001 to £75,000  £75,001 to £100,000  Over £100,000  Total 
			 2005-06 13 3 — — 1 17 
			 2006-07 9 2 2 — — 13 
			 2007-08 6 3 1  — 10 
		
	
	Compensation for early departure is paid from the Civil Service Compensation Scheme. The Northern Ireland Office meets the cost of early departures, and this includes the cost of lump sum severance payments and the additional costs of benefits beyond the normal Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) benefits in respect of employees who retire early.
	The following table shows expenditure on early departures in each year since 2005-06.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005-06 433,713.75 
			 2006-07 288,954.88 
			 2007-08 224,593.17